Team Building

I always talk about how sports is a microcosm of society, and we know that team building is an exercise done in virtually every business across every industry. Whether it be for a special project or for day-to-day tasks to be completed, building an effective, efficient team to get the work done is vitally important for every business. Sports is a little different, though, in that some skill sets cannot be replicated no matter what the circumstances are. Finding a Gretzky or a Wickenheiser is difficult for hockey general managers because these types of players are so unique, but six GMs were trying to find the best combinations of skills to make their teams successful as the inaugural PWHL Draft took place in Toronto!

Today, we were witness to the first six teams stocking their rosters with the best players they could find via the player draft, and we got a sense of what these teams will look like come January when they hit the ice for the first-ever PWHL games. Some GMs clearly did their homework based on how they want their teams to play while others seemingly took the best players available at their respective draft positions. In both cases, a pile of great hockey players have been selected to play in the inaugural season of the PWHL, so let's take a peek at the composition of the teams thus far.

GM: Natalie Darwitz
Head coach: Charlie Burggraf
Home arena: not yet named

FORWARDS: Kelly Coyne Schofield, Kelly Pannek, Taylor Heise, Grace Zumwinkle, Clair De George, Denisa Krizova, Sophie Kunin, Michela Cava, Liz Schepers, Sydney Brodt.

DEFENDERS: Lee Stecklein, Maggie Flaherty, Susanna Tapani, Natalie Buchbinder, Sidney Morin, Minttu Tuominen.

GOALTENDERS: Nicole Hensley and Amanda Leveille.

It would appear that Natalie Darwitz's team will skate like the wind, move the puck quickly, and get activation from defenders while heading up the ice based on their draft and signings. There's a nice balance of scoring and defence here, and the goaltending is top-notch in the pairing of Hensley and Leveille. Minnesota will be a tough matchup challenge for any team on any given night based on their roster's construction.

GM: Gina Kingsbury
Head coach: Troy Ryan
Home arena: not yet named

FORWARDS: Sarah Nurse, Blayre Turnbull, Emma Maltais, Natalie Spooner, Jesse Compher, Victoria Bach, Brittany Howard, Maggie Connors, Rebecca Leslie, Hannah Miller, Alexa Vasko.

DEFENDERS: Renata Fast, Jocelyn Laroque, Kali Flanagan, Allie Munroe, Melissa Channell, Olivia Knowles.

GOALTENDERS: Kristen Campbell.

Toronto will score goals this season as they have an impressive group of forwards who can dent twine. Defensively, this Toronto team can skate and move the puck, and there's a little sandpaper in the mix as well. While they still need to find a second goaltender, getting Campbell puts them in a good position with a young netminder who has already shown she can play in and win big games at any level. Fans of the Toronto PWHL team should have a lot to cheer about in this inaugural season.

GM: Danielle Marmer
Head coach: Courtney Kessel
Home arena: not yet named

FORWARDS: Hilary Knight, Alina Muller, Jamie Lee Rattray, Loren Gabel, Hannah Brandt, Theresa Schafzahl, Taylor Girard, Sophie Shirley, Shiann Darkangelo, Tatum Skaggs.

DEFENDERS: Megan Keller, Sophie Jaques, Jessica Di Girolamo, Emily Brown, Emma Buckles, Jessica Healey.

GOALTENDERS: Aerin Frankel and Emma Soderburg.

Boston might end up being the team that everyone hates to play as they are loaded with scoring and sandpaper up front. Their blue line might be a little underwhelming in name recognition, but this group will skate, play with an edge, and find ways to disrupt plays. The goaltending duo of Frankel and Soderburg might be the best fundamental stoppers in the game, but they're athletic enough to make third and fourth saves on every play. If this team gets rolling, there might be a few cases of "Boston flu" in opposing players who don't want more bumps and bruises.

GM: Pascal Daoust
Head coach: Howie Draper
Home arena: not yet named

FORWARDS: Alex Carpenter, Abby Roque, Jessie Eldridge, Chloe Aurard, Elizabeth Giguere, Jill Saulnier, Jade Downie-Landry, Paetyn Levis, Kayla Vespa, Emma Woods, Alexandra Labelle.

DEFENDERS: Micah Zandee-Hart, Ella Shelton, Jamie Bourbonnais, Brooke Hobson, Olivia Zafuto.

GOALTENDERS: Corinne Schroeder and Abigail Levy.

I'm not sure what New York's overall strategy was in this draft as they selected very good players, but there's very little chemistry among the players they chose. That's not to say it won't be forged by this group, but there is a solid scoring and skating component to this group's game that Draper will employ this season. Defensively, there isn't a true "stopper" among the young defenders, but they all have speed and shutdown abilities. The goaltending is young, but up to the task of stopping its opposition. New York may surprise a few veteran teams this season with their youthful exuberance!

GM: Michael Hirshfeld
Head coach: Carla MacLeod
Home arena: TD Place Arena

FORWARDS: Brianne Jenner, Emily Clark, Gabby Hughes, Hayley Scamurra, Daryl Watts, Katerina Mrazova, Kristin Della Rovere, Lexi Adzija, Caitrin Lonergan, Audrey-Anne Veillette.

DEFENDERS: Savannah Harmon, Ashton Bell, Jincy Dunne, Aneta Tejralova, Zoe Boyd, Amanda Boulier.

GOALTENDERS: Emerence Maschmeyer and Sandra Abstreiter.

It seemed that Ottawa was content to build from the blue line as their first three picks in the draft were defenders, but they got themselves smart, puck-moving defenders who can jump into a play and make life difficult on the opposition. Combine that "rover"-like skill set with the scoring and hard-nosed play we'll see from the forward group, and this Carla MacLeod-coached team will outwork, outhustle, and out-most-everything compared to their opposition on game nights. There may be nights where their goaltending has to be world-class, but Maschmeyer and Abstreiter will take that challenge!

GM: Daniele Sauvageau
Head coach: Kori Cheverie
Home arena: not yet named

FORWARDS: Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, Kristin O'Neill, Maureen Murphy, Kennedy Marchment, Teresa Vanisova, Gabrielle David, Jillian Dempsey, Claire Dalton, Ann-Sophie Bettez, Lina Ljungblom.

DEFENDERS:Erin Ambrose, Dominika Laskova, Kati Tabin, Madison Bizal, Maude Poulin-Labelle.

GOALTENDERS: Ann-Renee Desbiens and Elaine Chuli.

Montreal added speed, scoring, and a little bit of an edge with their draft selections. You won't see them get pushed around a lot, but they will need to have an active blue line to disrupt plays entering their zone and transition up the ice. Having two championship-calibre goalies stopping pucks is a luxury that all teams want, but Montreal could go with either as the starter. This team can say it may have one of the more balanced rosters in the league at this time, and they could win a lot of games thanks to the strengths they possess in all three zones.

Each team still has work today as they have to have 28 players at training camps that open in November. That means they'll sit down and contact players who were not drafted to see if they'll attend training camp as free agent signings. As we know, all teams must have 23 players signed when the season opens in January, so five of the ten free agents would potentially make the team in training camp as well.

I'd be interested to see if Toronto could convince Noora Raty to join Kristen Campbell in the crease as a bit of a mentoring situation. Those two as a tandem would rival any of the other goaltending duos in skill and ability, and Toronto would be better off for it. Otherwise, Erica Howe, Lauren Bench, or Maddie Rooney would be excellent goalies to pursue as free agents in this writer's opinion.

Might we see any of the Pandas end up in New York with former Alberta coach Howie Draper? As we know, Kennedy Ganser had re-signed with the Metropolitan Riveters before the PHF was sold, so there might be a chance that Ganser could attend camp under Draper in The Big Apple. Perhaps there will be a reunion with Alex Poznikoff in New York as Poznikoff showed she can score at the PWHPA level last season. However, if some of the rumours are true about a potential injury situation for Poznikoff, it could put a damper on those reunion hopes.

There's still a ton of work to be done, but each team now has 18 players around whom they can build a team, market the team and games, and more. The PWHL Draft looked like a ton of fun and it went off without a hitch today, so kudos to the PWHL staff and volunteers along with CBC for their excellent work in getting this to reality. We're closer to one professional league with all the best players competing against one another than ever before, and it's an exciting time to be a hockey fan as we near the first games!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!